Justin Gibbens

Like John James Audubon meeting Aleister Crowley, the crptozoological animals of Justin Gibbens seem both natural and terribly strange. They suggest wildlife perverted by toxins or mutation, or the products of DNA experimentation gone horribly wrong in the lab. A turkey's wattle becomes an octopus-like tendril in Bib Fortuna. Nearby, a horned owl has actual horns. These creatures are calm yet more than a little demonic. Extra limbs and unexpected growths may be adaptations, but to what forces in our environment? The show, called Hydras and Basilisks, is like an exercise in unnatural selection. BRIAN MILLER